Coffee Information

Central America:

Antigua Guatemala coffee is famous as one of the most perfectly balanced ( flavour, body, acidity, and aroma ) coffees in the world and for the legendary volcanic mountainous Antigua region where this extra-hard-bean grows. Rich in body and flavor, excellent as a light or dark roasted coffee and in espresso. Antigua commands intense loyalty from many coffee aficionados world wide.  Wet processed. This Coffee has received a high rating on the www.coffeereview.com website in May of 2003.

Lake Atitlan: Coffees from around Lake Attilan are a classic Guatemalan cup. Atitlan's are coffees with deep body, stunning acidity and fruit, and hints (more than mild suggestions) of chocolate and cinnamon. Atitlan's are truly a classic amazing cup.

Guatemala Maragogype: High shade grown Arabica coffee. This coffee is also known as " Elephant Beans" because of the large size of the beans greater than 20. The Maragogype makes a wonderful cup with mellow flavors and hints of nuts and chocolate, good acidity and a clean aftertaste. Best when roasted to full city.

Coban Zunun, Guatemala. From the Guatemalan Rainforest. The Coban Zunun has been developed over a time period of 10 years from  small producers in the region to create a new and special experience in the cup. The cherries are carefully selected and then washed and trucked three hours to be sun dried in Oriente. The coffee then rests for two months before milling to allow the coffee's rich flavors to settle. It has full body and  a bright fruity cup that jumps out on the palate with a clean finish. The coffee is grown in 4800 - 5500 ft. above sea level.

Huehuetenango Guatemala, the region is crossed by the northwest Cuchumatanes Range , whose limestone mountains reach elevation of over 11.000 feet above sea level. It has a wide range of microclimates. The quality of these coffees is defined by the warm winds and the masses of cold air from the Cuchumatanes. Coffee produced in this region present a very special characteristics in the cup. Hue Hue Tenango (way way ten-na-go) produces  a wonderful bright coffee with nice body, and excellent floral tones and fruitiness. Besides all these great cup attributes, it's a fun one to say, "Way Way." Wet processed.

Guatemala SHB (Decaf This is a strictly hard bean coffee from Gutemala and decaffeinated with the MC method. Wet processed.

Costa Rica  an outstanding coffee with a great deal of verve: full bodied and piquant, with hints of spice and smokiness. Complex enough to be wonderful on its own or in blend.

The combination of soil, temperature, sunlight, wet and dry seasons must all meet the right formula. The small, high mountainous Costa Rican Tarrazú region, south of San José, has the ideal conditions.  If you want outstanding Tarrazú coffee you are probably going to find it in San Marcos de Tarrazú. Wet processed.

Panama Boquete SHB: Good body, clean finish with a rich flavor, well balanced, with fruit and dark cocoa tones , medium body and acidity, great for Vienna and dark roasts.  Wet processed.

South America:

Colombian Supremo   The FNC Regional Specialty grows in three small rural comminities located on the eastern Cordillera in the Department of Huila in Colombia. A small group of 35 coffee growers in 161 acres planted mainly with Caturra Variety Coffees.  Wet process and sun drying follow strictly the tradional Colombian traditions. Each individual farmer carries out these important activities in his farm individual "beneficio" The Association and  the individual growers of Campo Alegre are actively working to preserve and promote this fine origin. 

The Campo Alegre is very consistent;it has promonent floral, aromatic fragrance. Acidity and body in his Regional Specialty Coffee are well balanced. Grown in 5300 ft. -5900 ft. EP 15

Brasil Cerrado Santos  , In the early 1900’s many families emigrated from Italy to the Black Mountains of Brasil. There, they started a new life growing coffee. The Black Mountains offered ideal growing conditions for the Arabica coffee trees; high altitudes, rich soil and cool nights. Soon there were many small farmers producing this wonderfully rich coffee that was enjoyed in coffeehouses all over Europe.

Many of these small farms suffered and were forced to industrialize their methods to keep up production. Some continued their traditional methods of farming. Still today the coffee is picked by hand and naturally dried in the farmers’ fields, just as it has been for generations.

The Cerrado  is at an altitude of about 3,600 feet. The cup has a light acidity at the beginning of the crop. The body is creamy and full; the flavor is soft and mild, tending towards a slight nuttiness.  Cerrado produces the best, natural coffees from Brazil. 

Sweet Yellow: (Brazil) Altitude: 3.250 -3.900 ft.This is a limited production coffee a combination of beans growing on plants yielding yellow cherries. The yellow fruit from all varieties is generally very sweet with a medium to mild acidity. Flavor? The flavor of this coffee begins with a sweet floral aromatic experience. Its medium to mild acidity is compliments nicely with the coffee's sweet rich citrus notes and medium body. The tasting experiences finishes with a clean smooth medium-long mouth feel.

Recommended use: Ideal as a single origin brewed Rainforest certified coffee. Sweet yellow in an espresso blend adds a beautiful bouquet to the cup while its body and flavor notes softly enhance the mouth-feel of the elixir.
Roast recommendations: medium to a full city

Brazil Espresso:

This Complex Coffee exhibits marzipan Sweeet aroma followed by vanilla
and caramel notes in flavor. It boasts a fruity sweetness along with a good underlying acidity and a
fresh, creamy texture, revealing a full bdoy and a soft finish.
Suggested Roast - Dark roast presents fruit notes and caramel finish
Recommended Use - outstanding espresso

Impact - unique Complex
Aroma - Citrus Brightness
Flavor - Distinctively nutty and dried fruit
Sweetness - elegant and pleasant
Acitidty - lemon & sugar
Coday - Remarkabel velvet
Aftertaste - Sweet Caramel and honey finish

Indonesia:

Sumatra Mandheling fancy, Indonesia, Sumatra is a pungent, full-bodied and slightly aggressive coffee. The dry-processed method by which there is prolonged contact of the coffee beans with the dried fruit covering contribute to its unique flavor characteristics. As an Indonesian coffee it has the typical earthy qualities and makes a very complex and satisfying cup of coffee. Dry Processed.

Sumatra Mandheling decaf MC: This coffee cups like  the non decaf Sumatra Mandheling just a little more cleaner and less earthy. 

Indonesian Celebes Kalossi   clean, light cup with a little nuttiness. Medium bodied spicy and smooth,

^{very similar to Sumatran coffee in cup profile. If you like Sumatrans, consider giving this coffee a try as an origin.}

Java Preanger: On the north side of Bandung lies a handful of coffee regions farmed by small shareholders.Altitude ranges from 800 meter to 1700 meters. This coffee is mostly grown in wooded areas using organic fertilizer and no pesticides.This unique coffee is wonderful as single origin at different roast levels but also outstanding coffee to blend.
In the cup the aroma os powerful with sweet spices and a black licorice.Moderate body contributes to the lingering sweet finish.The coffee produces a wonderfully clean cuo and smooth mouthfeel.

Africa:

Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, Africa from the cradle of the world. These are wet processed and wonderful beans.You will find a soft, fruity and rich coffee in these beans. Look especially for a wine like acidity and floral element. What you like in an Ethiopian Sidamo coffee is even more pronounced in Yirgacheffe. 

Ethiopian Harrar(Mocha) Africa, a complex flavorful coffee with undertones of blueberry. Ethiopian Harrar offers a smooth rounded body with sparkling acidity. Its distinguished character reflects its ancient birthplace. Dry processed.

Kenya AA, Africa.The smoothness of its acidity and the subtle notes of its fruitiness make it an exceptional cup.  The AA has deliciously smooth body and a wonderful mouth feel to round out the bottom of the flavor profileThis is an outstanding Kenya AA. The lots in Kenya are sold at auction after being cupped extensively by the potential buyers. This particular lot has been tendered to the auction. It is the finest of the Kiuru estate, which is located in the central plateau. The farmers name is George Gaiti and he has been working with coffee since he was a child. He has organized the farmers in his area into one estate in order to control the quality. They have built the soil up using traditional organic material and manure and have avoided the use of chemical fertilizers. They have given us an exceptional coffee with the body and flavor which make a Kenya AA great and a phenomenal aroma and fruit component which is what makes it stand out. For a Kenya AA lover this is a truly exceptional coffee. Wet processed.

Tanzanian PB Top Kilimanjaro: Tanzanian Peaberry is a product of extremely careful growing and processing and a naturally occurring mutation. The peaberry is a mutation which occurs in all coffee. It is when there is only one bean per cherry and it makes for a much more intense flavor in that one bean. Tanzania produces fabulously rich coffee and the AA (flatbeans) are coveted by the Japanese. The coffees of the North are the most flavorful and are often referred to as Kilimanjaro. We buy coffee from the North. This coffee is a rich acidic bean which is a very dry cup at the lighter roasts but is probably best at around a full city roast where the sugars that give it its sour notes convert to rich body.

Malawi Peaberry,Bright, light acidity, typical of East Africa. The Malawi  cups a bit like a Yirgacheffe with a natural piney resin replacing the citrus of a typical Yirgacheffe. Delicious white wine overtones.  We believe it  is the absolute best coffee from Malawi and comparable to any of the top East African coffees. Sun dried, weather permitting, otherwise mechanical dryer

Yemen Mocha:  Sana’ani Yemen is located across the Red Sea from Ethiopia. The Yemeni people argue that coffee originated in Yemen and not Ethiopia. Though evidence points to Ethiopia as the birth- place of coffee, we know that Yemen is one of the oldest coffee producing countries in the world.

Yemeni coffees are uniquely processed because the cherries are mostly allowed to dry on the trees. During the harvest three passes are made to pick dried cherries. After being harvested the cherries are spread over rooftops or on sheets and are allowed to finish drying in direct sunlight for an additional 10-15 days. Next begins the painstaking process of manual cleaning (removing stones and foreign matter), hulling the Gisher and packaging the beans. This process takes a lot of time and involves anywhere from 50 to 200 workers who are well trained, all working at once to process the coffee. Sana’ani Mochas are grown close to the Matari Mochas in the northern region of Yemen. Sana’ani is actually a more generic name for several sub-types of coffee that grow in a wide area around the capital of Yemen Sana’ani. These types of Sana’ani that have their own sub-names, and do have noticeable variations among them in the character and appearance, are close enough to be grouped together as a single type called the Sana’ani, even though the Yemeni people know them by their different names. Each sub-type or group is named after the village or area that it comes from, i.e.: Haimi, Raimi, Ahjari, Saihi, and Dthamari. These areas share similar soil, altitude and humidity, which is why these coffees are similar enough to be grouped together and called Sana’ani. There are two harvests for the Sana’ani depending on the type and the altitude it grows at. One is mid-February to mid-April and the other is mid-November to mid-January.

India:

Indian Monsooned Malabar Flavor similar to aged Sumatra but with corky, woody nuances--an acquired taste with a low acidity. To make, or "Monsoon" the coffee, plantation arabica is laid out in the open and exposed to monsoon winds and rains for about a week, then placed in bags in warehouses exposed to the salt and sea winds during the monsoon season. The beans swell with moisture and turn a pale yellow. This coffee tastes like no other, and it is usually a love-hate relationship. You either love this funky, low-acid, salty briny solution, or you think it tastes like the river Ganges, which, though Holy, has bodies and cows often floating between its banks. 

India washed Arabica Pea Berry. Chickamagalur District. India Peaberry is remarkable for several attributes.  For its aroma - sweet and memorable.  Notes of vanilla and cinnamon bark blend with a subtle acidity and a rich, humus-y flavor.
For its shape. Peaberry is a solitary bean that occurs in about 4% of all arabica beans.  Folklore has it that a single peaberry incorporates all the flavors that occur in the more typical twinned coffee fruit.

India Mysore Nuggets EB This coffee is a premium coffee that represents the best quality coffee from India. The beans are very large, uniform blush green in colour with a clean polished appearance. In cup, the coffee exhibits full aroma, medium to good body, good acidity and fine flavour with a hint of spice  These spicy overtones come from the cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves and pepper that grow alongside the coffee trees. 
Arabica Plantation Coffee (Washed coffee) grown in the Mysore, Coorg, Biligiris and Shevaroys regions. This Coffee has received a high rating on the www.coffeereview.com website in July 2004

Plantation A Jamboor Estate: This coffee is a Specialty coffee that represents the best quality coffee from India. The beans are very large, uniform blush green in colour with a clean polished appearance. In cup, the coffee exhibits full aroma, medium to good body, good acidity and fine flavour with a hint of spice.This Arabica Plantation Coffee (Washed coffee) grown in Jumboor Estate in the Kodagu District (Coorg) of Karnataka State .Jumboor Estate, belongs to Tata Coffee Limited located in the wooded highlands of northern Coorg.
 The cherries are pulped, dry fermented for 12 hours, mechanically washed and soaked under water. The parchments are once again washed manually, using pure mountain spring water to create the unique coffees, for which Jumboor has been renowned, for over a century. Expert hands carefully sun dry the beans on concrete drying yards, to achieve a slow and controlled drying. These efforts result in a coffee that has a medium acidity, intense flavour and chocolaty notes, a hallmark of Jumboor washed Arabicas. These efforts result in a coffee that has a medium acidity, intense flavour and chocolaty notes, a hallmark of Jumboor washed Arabicas.Jumboor MNEB was adjudged the 'Finest Specialty Coffee of India', at the India International Coffee Festival 2002 This Coffee has received a great  rating  at the www.coffereview.com website in July 2004.

Indian Robusta Strong, heavy flavor with pronounced woodiness perfect for sweetened iced coffees.

The Islands:

Jamaica blue Mountain Wallenford

A balanced classic coffee with rich flavor, full body, and a smooth yet vibrant acidity.This is the real thing.  Look for a medium acidity and excellent body. This is a smooth coffee generally considered to be the world's best

Hawaiian Kona Fancy: Kona is a region on the slopes of the Hualalai and Maina Loa Mountains. The rich volcanic soil and afternoon cloud cover, which protects the sensitive coffee trees from the strong midday sun, make for an ideal enviroment for the coffee to develop in.The coffee is hand picked in  multiple pickings  at the peal of ripness before being pulped and sun dried.This is one of the most well balanced coffees in the world. It is rich and aromatic with chocolate flavor.

Yauco Selecto Grade A (Puerto Rico) :This coffee is grown in the West Central Cordillera of the island. It is one of the finest coffees in the world. It has a comparable cup but greater value than the Jamaican Blue Mountain. It has an earthy and smooth cup with exceptional balance and mellowness. It is grown in the rich bauxite soil on farms averaging 7 hectares. The coffee is grown under dense shading and the workers are paid a minimum wage, which makes them some of the highest paid workers in a growing country. The coffee is hand picked in three pickings From August to January on 45° slopes and fermented for 24 hours. It is then patio dried for 5-7 days, which allows its rich cocoa flavor to develop slowly. This is one of the finest boutique coffees in the world.

Reference Guide to Roast Styles:

       Roast Color:                                                                                  Common Names:

	Acidity is one of the most likely to be misunderstood. Neither acidic nor sour, an acidy coffee is brisk and bright. The darker a coffee is roasted, the less acidy it becomes. However, strong acidity in a green coffee may show up in a dark roast as sharpness or pungency.
	Body; mouthfeel - Body is the sensation of heaviness in the mouth; it also registers as a rich, full feeling at the back of the palate. Body is a sensation, an element of taste, not a measurable fact. As coffee approaches a medium-to-dark brown roast, body increases. As it passes into a very dark roast (Dark French or Spanish roast) body decreases.
	Aroma - Although this term is self-evident in its general definition, it is important in discussions of roast. Aroma is less developed in very light roasts, peaks in intensity in medium to medium-dark roasts, and falls off in very dark roasts.
	Complexity - Another obvious yet useful term. A complex coffee allows certain strong sensations such as acidity and sweetness to coexist. It presents a wide range of sensation, and often doesn't reveal itself immediately and definitively. Complexity is undoubtedly at its peak in the middle ranges of roast style, from medium through the moderately dark to dark roasts used for espresso. Most blends aim to increase complexity.
	Depth - Depth describes the resonance or sensual power behind the sensations that drive the taste of the coffee. It is a tricky and subjective term, but it tries to get at the way certain coffees open up and support their sensations with a sort of ringing, echoing power, whereas others simply present themselves to the palate and then stand pat or even fade.
	Varietal distinction, varietal character - These terms seem to have migrated over to coffee from wine-tasting relatively recently. They describe qualities that distinguish one unblended, green coffee from another when the coffees are brought to the relatively light "cupping" roast used in professional coffee evaluation.
	Balance - Describing coffees in which the acidity is strong but not overwhelming, the body substantial, and no taste idiosyncrasy dominates.
	Wild; natural; earthy - A slight sour twist to the acidity is the best verbal description I can produce. Once you identify this taste syndrome you'll know it forever. I enjoy wild-tasting coffees; they remind me that I'm drinking something that comes from the earth. But I'm a romantic. If this taste is too pronounced it becomes an outright defect.
	Clean - In some respects this term describes qualities that are the opposite of wild or natural. Clean-tasting coffees are free of defects, shadow undertones, or varietal distractions.